Machine for manufacturing composite mica



D. WALING.

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING COMPOSITE MICA.

APPLICATION FILED APR. ll I919;

Patented 10, 1920.

INvENruv:

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lac, then apply a second layer desired thickness is produced.

NEW

Application filed April 11,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DONALD WaL No, a subject of the 'King of England, resldlnlg at eene, county of Cheshire, State of ew Hampshire, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Mannfacturing Composite Mica, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings.

y invention has for its object a machlne for manufacturing composite mica sometimes called mica-board. Heretofore in the manufacture of mica-board, it has been customary to lay the laminae of mica on a frame covered with a wire netting; then coat the laminae with a layer of binder such as shelof mica and sheet of the The opera-- tion of applying theflaminm by' hand is a slow and expensive 'one. Other methods have been attempted but have proved impractical because there are produced in-the stock places where the mica is drythat is not reached by the binder.

y present invention provides a machine by means of which compound mica-board may be produced rapidly and with little or no hand-labor. It also produces a product of exceptional quality, and more uniform than is produced by hand.

The invention will be fully understood by reference to the following specification when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close-of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation partly in diagram of a machine embodying my invention.

ig. 2 is an end elevation of the machineas viewed from the left of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view illustrating the construction of the composite sheet made with the useof the herein described machine.

eferring to the drawings, at A is shown a traveling bed-member preferably in .the form of an endless belt and having reticulations. The bed member is conveniently made from wire cloth or short links; The bed member is supported at one end over a suction box in the form of. a stationary drum 12 and at the other end over'a pressure roll proceed in this manner until a Specification of Letters Patent.

- portion of the bed Qatented Aug. 10, 1920. 1919. Serial No. 289,343.

13. The suction box 12 is also reticulated or perforated as shown at 14.

he air'within the suction box is exhausted through pipes 15 and 16 by means of a pump or other means not shown.

At 17 is shown a spout from which the mica is allowed to fall vertically in a plane adjacent the area of contact between the reticulations of the suction box 12 and the traveling bed member. At 18, 18 is shown a series of heating pipes between which the bed member passes, and at 19 is shown an upper press rollooiiperating with the lower press roll- 13 over which the end of the traveling bed member runs. The traveling bed member is driven bythe pressure roll 13. If a sheet'of cloth or paper, as shown at 4, is to be applied to the compound sheet 5 of mica to be formed, it is supplied from a roll 22 which feeds under the roll 23 located midway between the suction box 12 and the heating coils 18. The binder such as shellac, or similar material, as shown at 6, is applied about the point 20 either by hand or by an automatlc means. In the drawings, I have shown a fountain 30 supplied from a tank 31 for this purpose.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that as the thin laminae of spout 17, the suction of mica fall from the registering reticulations draw the laminae into traveling bed member.

suction box, no more laminae will adhere to that portion of the bed member while laminae will adhere to the portion having unclosed reticulations therein.

uniform coating of laminae is applied to the bed member. The suction continues on the underside of the bed memberuntil-any given member reaches a horizontal plane; thereafter the suction is released and the laminae of mica lie on the top of the bed member. It is to be observed that no mica laminae are poured onto the top surface of the bed member, but on the contrary all the mica in the layer is that which has been drawn to the bed member by, the suction through the suction box. The

the air through the i I reticulations 14 of the suction box and they of the bed member The result is that the surplus laminae fall down and a the bed member moves,

backing material is .applied, if one is to be used, and the whole passes through the steam Y pipes 18 which soften and'distribute the binder and expel the solvent. If a binder in powdered form is used, the heating melts and distributes it. Thereafter the sheet passes between the pressure rolls 13 and 19 and is subjected to pressure expressing the surplus binder and solidifying the whole, giving a uniform thickness. I

The herein described machine embodying my invention will be run at a speed which makes it possible to produce the material at a rate very much greater than that at which it has been possible to produce it in the past and the expense is very much less. The

product is also very much more uniform andis free from dry places.

What I claim is I 1. In a machine for laying mica, the combination-of an endless traveling reticulated bed member, a reticulated drum over which means for exhausting the air from the interior of the drum, means for supplying mica to the bed member at the area of contact with the suction box, and means for applying a binder to the mica while still on the surface of thebed member.

2. In a machine for laying mica, the combination of an endless traveling reticulated bed member, a reticulated suction box over which the bed member moves, means for exhausting the air fromthe interior of the suction box, means for supplying mica to the bed member at the area of contact with the suction box, means for applying a binder to the mica on the surface of the bed member, and means for feeding sheet material onto the mica after the :binder has been applied. 1

3. In a machine for laying mica, the combination of an endless traveling reticulated bed member, a reticulated the bed member moves, means for exhausting the air from the interior of the drum,

means for supplying mica to the bed member at the area of contact with mica on the surface of the bed member, and

rum over which the suction box, means for applying a binder to the" means for feeding sheet material onto the. mica after the binder has been applied, and heating apparatus adjacent the bed member. 4. In a machine for laying mica, the combination of an endless traveling reticulated bed member, a reticulated drum, and a pressure roll over which the endless bed member passes, means for exhausting the air from the drum, means for supplying mica to the bed member at the area of centact with the drum, means for applymg binder to the mica on the bed member" and for heating the same, said means being located between the drum and the pressure roll, and a second pressure roll cooperating with the first mentioned roll on the opposite side of the bed member.

5. In a machine for laying mica, the com bination of a traveling reticulatedbed member, a suction boxacross which the member moves, the area of contact of the bed member which is exposed to the action of the suction box being substantially vertical and means for feeding mica in a substantially J vertical stream adjacent the said exposed portion of the suction box.

6. In a machine for laying mica, the combination of a traveling reticulated bed member, a suction box across which the bed member moves, the area of contact of the bed member which isexposed to-the action of the suction box bein vertical, means to supply mica to said area in a quantity greater than will be drawn against the bed member by the action of the suction box.

7. In a machine for laying mica, the combination of an endless traveling reticulated bed member, a suction box across which the bed member moves, the area of contact of the bed member which is exposed to the' action of the suction box being substantially vertical, and the adjacent portion of .the bed member being in a generally horizontal plane, and means for supplying mica to'the said area whereby the mica which adheres to the bedmember at the area of contact is heldthere by the suction until it is carried onto the top of the bed member by movement of the bed member.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. i

DONALD WALING. 

